No Serbs among 100 new notaries in Kosovo; civil sector and deputy ombudsman condemn and demand revision of the decision…
The Kosovo Minister of Justice signed a total of 100 decisions over the past two days, appointing new public notaries in Kosovo. The news about their appointments was published by the Ministry of Justice, and the list of new notaries was also published by the Kosovo Training Institute. There are no Serbian names on that list, although Serbs participated in the competition and passed the exams, the Deputy Ombudsperson said. There are a total of five of them, according to the Serbian civil sector in Kosovo. The CSOs and Sentić demanded that the decision be revised.
„In our country, 100 new notaries have been added, in which case today I signed decisions for their appointment,“ said Kosovo Minister of Justice Albulena Haxhiu four days ago. She announced that the list will be published at the beginning of this week on the Ministry of Justice website.
Only six had their appointments rejected, Haxhiu said at the time, due to failing to meet the requirements. She boasted that this notary exam process was „the most transparent and professional“ to date and that this institution has finally responded to the needs of citizens.
The vacancy competition for 100 free positions for public notaries throughout Kosovo was published in April of this year, and it lasted two weeks. Applications were submitted until April 17.
No ethnic Serbs on the list
On Monday, the Kosovo Ministry of Justice released data on the accepted candidates – now new notaries in Kosovo.
The decision was published for each of them, dated July 15, and signed by the Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu. The same list was then published by the Kosovo Training Institute.
Among the 100 candidates, there are no members from the Kosovo Serb community, although the list includes individuals who come from Serb-majority municipalities, including the ones from the north.
Sentić: Very worrying, there were many qualified candidates who passed the notary exam
„It is completely unacceptable that there is not a single Serb among the 100 appointed notaries. There were many qualified candidates who passed the notary exam and participated in the competition for appointment in municipalities with a Serbian majority,“ said the deputy of the Kosovo Ombudsman, Srdjan Sentić.
Apart from the fact that the message that the Kosovo government is sending to the Serbian community with this move is very worrying, he pointed out, the very need for notaries among the same community has been completely ignored:
„Even if all Serbian candidates were appointed, there would still be a need for more notaries from the Serbian community.“
Such a decision, he stressed, deepens mistrust towards the institutions, which are “declaratively open to Serbian and other communities.“
He pointed out that this comes in light of the formation of the Commission for the Integration of Non-Majority Communities, for which the decision was made at a session of the Kosovo government just a week ago. Sentić called for the urgent revision of this decision.
Arsenijević: The decision is discriminatory
The fact that such a decision comes in the midst of the formation of the aforementioned Commission, which is supposed to work on strengthening the integration of non-majority communities, was also pointed out by the leader of the Serbian Democracy, Aleksandar Arsenijević, who was the first to alert the public about the list of new notaries.
„Mr. Kurti started implementing his government’s minority integration strategy, which he announced last week. The results for the certification of new notaries by the Kosovo Ministry of Justice were published today. Imagine, not a single Serb on the list of 101 elected notaries. Not even in Serbian areas, although there were Serbian candidates,“ Arsenijević said on the X network.
He recalled Article 61 of the Kosovo Constitution: „Article 61 [Representation in Public Institutions Employment]
Communities and their members shall be entitled to equitable representation in employment in public bodies and publicly owned enterprises at all levels, including in particular in the police service in areas inhabited by the respective Community, while respecting the rules concerning competence and integrity that govern public administration.”
Serbian Democracy invited Serbian candidates to file appeals against this, they pointed out, discriminatory decision.
Civil society: Five members from the Serbian community applied, it is worrying that no one was been appointed
“We express serious concern and protest regarding the decision of the Kosovo Minister of Justice on the appointment of notaries, which did not include a single notary from the Serbian community among the 100 appointed notaries,” eight Serbian NGOs from Kosovo said in a joint statement.
They stressed that there are currently ten Serbian lawyers in Kosovo who have passed the notary exam in Kosovo, and five of them applied for notary positions in several municipalities in Kosovo.
“It is extremely worrying that none of them have been appointed to a notary position in any municipality in Kosovo. Particularly concerning is the fact that a candidate from the Serbian community who applied for positions in two municipalities in northern Kosovo was not appointed, despite meeting all the requirements and having significant legal experience.”
Additionally, they deemed as “inexplicable” that, despite several candidates from the Serbian community with extensive legal experience, no one from this community was appointed to the notary position in Gračanica, a municipality with a Serbian majority; instead, a candidate from the Albanian community was appointed.
The situation is similar in other municipalities included in this vacancy announcement for notary positions.
They emphasized that they do not dispute the qualifications of candidates from the Albanian community, but:
“Highlight the consequences that may arise from the exclusion of candidates from the Serbian community in the aforementioned decision and the negative message it sends to the Serbian community in Kosovo.”
These NGOs also warned that the mentioned decision by the Kosovo Minister of Justice will lead to new problems in terms of ensuring the rights of members of non-majority communities in Kosovo.
“Considering that from personal experience, we know that Albanian notaries provide services in Albanian language even in cases where the parties are exclusively Serbian. Although this is allowed by the Law on Notaries (Article 32.1), such a practice limits the right of Serbs in Kosovo to receive services in the Serbian language, which is an official language in Kosovo according to the Constitution of Kosovo (Article 5.1).”
Message is being sent that Serbs are not welcome in institutions
“Additionally, the aforementioned decision can, unfortunately, be interpreted as a message that Serbs and members of other non-majority communities are not welcome in institutions and liberal professions in Kosovo, even those who, under existing circumstances, have shown a desire to provide services to all communities in Kosovo.”
They call on the Kosovo Minister of Justice to consider the request for revising the decision on the appointment of notaries in municipalities with a Serbian majority.
Furthermore, they also urge all international missions and diplomatic representations in Kosovo, as well as civil society organizations from the majority community in Kosovo, to react “to prevent further escalation of tensions and the growth of mistrust of non-majority communities towards Kosovo institutions and the Government of Kosovo. We expect all actors to act in good faith and demonstrate their proclaimed commitment to creating and maintaining a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo.”
The joint statement was signed by Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture – ACDC, New Social Initiative, Ngo Aktiv, CSD – Communication for Social Development, Institute for Territorial Economic Development, NGO Omladinska Parteska Aktivnost, Udruženje poslovnih žena „Avenija“, and NGO Santa Maria.
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